1993 Nobel
Prize in Chemistry
Inventor of the ‘Polymerase
Chain Reaction’ (PCR)
Biography
Kary Banks Mullis, Nobel Prize winning chemist,
was born on December 28, 1944, in Lenoir, North
Carolina
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in
chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology
in 1966. He earned a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry
from the University of California, Berkeley,
in 1972 and lectured in biochemistry there until
1973. That year, Dr. Mullis became a postdoctoral
fellow in pediatric cardiology at the University
of Kansas Medical School, with emphasis in the
areas of angiotensin and pulmonary vascular physiology. In
1977 he began two years of postdoctoral work
in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University
of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Mullis joined the Cetus Corporation in Emeryville,
California, as a DNA chemist in 1979. During
his seven years there, he conducted research
on oligonucleotide synthesis and invented the
polymerase chain reaction.
In 1986, he was named director of molecular
biology at Xytronyx, Inc. in San Diego, where
his work was concentrated in DNA technology and
photochemistry. In 1987 began consulting on nucleic
acid chemistry for more than a dozen corporations,
including Angenics, Cytometrics, Eastman Kodak,
Abbott Labs, Milligen/Biosearch, and Specialty
Laboratories.
Dr. Mullis received a Nobel Prize in chemistry
in 1993, for his invention of the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR). The process, which Dr.
Mullis conceptualized in 1983, is hailed as one
of the monumental scientific techniques of the
twentieth century. A method of amplifying DNA,
PCR multiplies a single, microscopic strand of
the genetic material billions of times within
hours. The process has multiple applications
in medicine, genetics, biotechnology, and forensics. PCR,
which was the theoretical basis for the novel
and motion picture Jurassic Park because
of its ability to extract DNA from fossils, is
in reality the basis of a new scientific discipline,
paleobiology.
Dr. Mullis has authored several major patents.
His patented inventions include the PCR technology
and UV-sensitive plastic that changes color in
response to light. His most recent patent
application covers a revolutionary approach to
instantly mobilize the immune system to neutralize
invading pathogens and toxins, leading to the
formation of his latest venture, Altermune LLC.
Dr. Mullis was awarded the Japan Prize in 1993
for the PCR invention. It is one of international
science’s most prestigious awards.
His many other awards include the Thomas A.
Edison Award (1993); California Scientist of
the Year Award (1992); the National Biotechnology
Award (1991); the Gairdner Award, Toronto, Canada
(1991); the R&D Scientist of the Year (1991);
the William Allan Memorial Award of the American
Society of Human Genetics (1990); and the Preis
Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of
Clinical Chemistry and Boehringer Mannheim (1990).
Dr. Mullis was presented the honorary degree
of Doctor of Science from the University of South
Carolina in 1994. He was inducted into
the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1998.
His many publications include “The Cosmological
Significance of Time Reversal” (Nature), “The
Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction” (Scientific
American), “Primer-directed Enzymatic
Amplification of DNA with a Thermostable DNA
Polymerase” (Science), and “Specific
Synthesis of DNA In Vitro via a Polymerase Catalyzed
Chain Reaction” (Methods in Enzymology).
Dr. Mullis has written an autobiographical book
titled Dancing Naked in the Mind Field published
by Pantheon Books in 1998.
He is currently a Distinguished Researcher at
Children’s Hospital and Research Institute
at Oakland.
Dr. Mullis serves on the board of scientific
advisors of several companies, provides expert
advice in legal matters involving DNA, and is
a frequent lecturer at college campuses, corporations
and academic meetings around the world.
He lives with his wife, Nancy Cosgrove Mullis,
in Newport Beach, California and in Anderson
Valley, California. |
